John Battle, in his outline Christ in the Gospels says, "Jesus required His diciples to follow God, and not to love the world, especially money. The parable of the rich man's shrewd manager illustrated how money should be made subservient to fostering human relationships...". There it is, the reason the shrewd manager was commended, I always wondered about that and why he was commended for what seemed like mismanagement at best or thievery at it's worst. The steward though, seeking future relationship with other businessmen, didn't allow money to rule the day, as did the Pharisees who were "lovers of money". Some commentaries say the steward may have even lessened his own commission in order to ensure himself future dealings after he was fired, yes, how shrewd. The next parable that follows regarding the rich man and Lazarus, John Battle goes on to say, concerns how the love of money can blind people to the real needs of themselves and others. It is clear that in this portion of scripture Jesus is emphasizing the famous command, "You cannot serve both God and Money". He instructs us to be faithful in small things and we will be entrusted with more...the true riches (of a heavenly nature)!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Shrewd Steward
Luke 16:1-13
John Battle, in his outline Christ in the Gospels says, "Jesus required His diciples to follow God, and not to love the world, especially money. The parable of the rich man's shrewd manager illustrated how money should be made subservient to fostering human relationships...". There it is, the reason the shrewd manager was commended, I always wondered about that and why he was commended for what seemed like mismanagement at best or thievery at it's worst. The steward though, seeking future relationship with other businessmen, didn't allow money to rule the day, as did the Pharisees who were "lovers of money". Some commentaries say the steward may have even lessened his own commission in order to ensure himself future dealings after he was fired, yes, how shrewd. The next parable that follows regarding the rich man and Lazarus, John Battle goes on to say, concerns how the love of money can blind people to the real needs of themselves and others. It is clear that in this portion of scripture Jesus is emphasizing the famous command, "You cannot serve both God and Money". He instructs us to be faithful in small things and we will be entrusted with more...the true riches (of a heavenly nature)!
John Battle, in his outline Christ in the Gospels says, "Jesus required His diciples to follow God, and not to love the world, especially money. The parable of the rich man's shrewd manager illustrated how money should be made subservient to fostering human relationships...". There it is, the reason the shrewd manager was commended, I always wondered about that and why he was commended for what seemed like mismanagement at best or thievery at it's worst. The steward though, seeking future relationship with other businessmen, didn't allow money to rule the day, as did the Pharisees who were "lovers of money". Some commentaries say the steward may have even lessened his own commission in order to ensure himself future dealings after he was fired, yes, how shrewd. The next parable that follows regarding the rich man and Lazarus, John Battle goes on to say, concerns how the love of money can blind people to the real needs of themselves and others. It is clear that in this portion of scripture Jesus is emphasizing the famous command, "You cannot serve both God and Money". He instructs us to be faithful in small things and we will be entrusted with more...the true riches (of a heavenly nature)!
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